Walking Dead Showrunner Angela Kang recently confirmed that we would be seeing the infamous Fair from the comics happen sometime in the back half of Season 9. Quick spoiler – in Robert Kirkman’s comics the Fair leads to the brutal killing of a dozen characters, including fan favorite Ezekiel. So naturally, Kang’s confirmation of the Fair got fans worried about their King. As for Ezekiel actor Khary Payton, he’s not so bothered.
“You know what? It’s not nerve-wracking because this entire experience of being on this show and playing Ezekiel has been so amazing,” Payton recently told ComicBook.com. “One thing you have to understand about being on this show is that nothing is promised to anybody.”
Of course, losing characters you care about is just the price of admission for a Walking Dead fan. “Anybody could go at any point, and that’s just the nature of the show,” Payton continues. “It’s like, smoke ’em while you got ’em. Enjoy it while it lasts, and try not to live thinking about the future. Just enjoy the present moment, because who knows? I could be hanging around for a couple years, or I could be gone tomorrow. They always end up switching the things up with the comics, so who knows which way it might actually end up.”
Whether the show stays true to the comics or not still remains to be seen, but either way Khary is keeping his head up. “…no matter what happens, I feel incredibly grateful for the time that I’ve been given on this show. The truth is that there is nothing promised to anybody on this show. Everybody is expendable.”
Catch the rest of the story over at Comicbook.com! The Walking Dead returns for the back half of Season 9 on AMC Sunday, February 10th at 9PM.
I feel like they will spare him to change up the show now that Rik has been carried away, but it would be something to see his walker head on a stake, ooo. I love this character though and his story, comic book and show!